Therapy remedies ‘blind’ eye

Boy gets a new outlook on vision

By Jerry Easterling of the Statesman-Journal

   Three ophthalmologist told Ted and Sharene Justen their son lane, 9, was legally blind.

   They said it was probably the result of a virus carried by chickens, which sounded logical. The Justens operate Brookside Poultry, an egg farm six miles west of Grand Ronde on Highway 18.

   Ophthalmologists said Lane probably would remain legally blind in his right eye, but they were wrong.  Today he can read type one-eighth of an inch high with that eye.

   “And that’s good vision,” said Sharene Justen.     

   Vision Therapy is responsible for the improvement in Lane’s eye, she said.  Lane is being treated by Jordan Brown, who with his father, Bernard Brown, operates Salem Eye Clinic at 1097 Liberty St. S.E.

   “I FIRST SAW him in November 1981,” Jordan Brown said as he glanced over a letter from an ophthalmologist in Oregon Health Sciences University in Portland.  The letter writer recommended against vision therapy because he didn’t think it would do any good.

   At that time Lane had 20-2200 vision in his right eye, said Brown.  That meant he could see at 20 feet what a person with normal vision could see at 2,200 feet.  About all Lane could do with his right eye, said his mother, was distinguish between light and dark.

   Doctors said she transmitted the virus that damaged Lane’s eyes before he was born.  At the time, it probably affected her like a cold.  The Justens’ son Travis, 10, has normal vision, but she’s been advised to have him examined to see if he carries the virus.

   LANE’S PROBLEM apparently has existed since birth, but he was 5 before it was discovered during a routine pre-school physical examination.  “Believe it or not, we didn’t notice it,” said Justen, because Lane was compensating by using only his left eye.

   It was a real shocker.  And shock deepened into dread as doctors kept telling them that little could be done to remedy it.

   But a bizarre incident encouraged them.  A yellow jacket stung the corner of Lane’s right eye, Justen said.  When the eye swelled, his vision improved because pressure was being exerted on the eyeball.

   Bernard Brown, who had examined Lane earlier, suggested that he be examined by Jordan Brown, who had recently joined him in practice.  Jordan Brown has extensive training in vision therapy.

   HE EARNED TWO Bachelor of Science degrees at the University of Washington; one in biochemistry, the other in visual science.  He graduated from the Southern California College of Optometry in 1981.  He interned in eye clinics at the veterans hospital, a naval hospital and a clinic in Monterey-Fort Ord. He qualified as a vision and learning specialist. 

   Located at the back of the eye, in an area called the macula, he said, are a cluster of rods and cones.  Cones make it possible to see during the day.  Rods are sensitive to low levels of light and allow night vision.

   When eyes are examined, a healthy macula responds with what Brown called a “bright little reflection.”  When he examined Lane’s right eye, he noticed a subdue reflection, indicating some healthy cells.

   EYES ARE DESIGNED by nature to work in pairs, he said.  When one fails to perform as it should, the brain automatically suppresses it to prevent interference with vision in the other eye.

   That’s the reason Lane’s right eye didn’t seem to cause him any problem.  Since it was never used, the healthy cells hadn’t developed.

  Sight and vision are two different things, according to Brown.  He defined sight as the ability to distinguish between dark and light.  Vision involves a number of factors, including focusing, tracking, depth perception and others, he said.

   Sight is natural, he said, but vision is learned.  He called it a neuro-musclar relationship that involves the eyes, the brain and all the nerves and muscles that an images stimulates.  Before Lane could use his right eye, that relationship had to be established.

   FIRST, THE CELLS in the macula had to be activated.  That was done by putting a patch over his left eye five hours a day.  Said Justen, so he would be forced to rely on his right one.

   Lane has undergone therapy at Salem Eye Clinic once a week.  His treatment includes a home program of reading, ball throwing and exercises to improve coordination in his right eye.

   In April this year, vision in his right eye was 20-50.  Today it is 20-40, and he

“can read fine Bible print,” said Justen.  No one could say how much more improvement is possible but the Justens will continue therapy as long as it appears to help.

   Ophthalmologists are “basically eye surgeons, who take care of serious eye diseases,” said Jordan Brown, while optometrist are “trained in all aspects of vision.”  Optometrists provide primary care and therapy, he said, while ophthalmologist rely on surgery to correct muscular irregularities of the eye.

   SOMETIMES SURGERY is required to correct eye problems, but not often, Brown said.  He estimated only 3 or 4 percent of eye problems require surgery.  Many respond to therapy, which he recommended.

   “You can always have surgery,” he said.  “But you can’t always have therapy after surgery because scar tissue makes it impossible.”

   Vision is his business.  Since people must be made aware of problems before they can be remedied, he considers it his duty to show them how to detect problems.

   He holds free seminars in schools because he believes teachers may spot visual problems among students before anyone else.

   And visual problems are a serious handicap. He said.  He estimated that 75 percent of children who have trouble reading have some sort of visual impairment.

   He urged parents to have their children’s eyes checked long before they begin school.